Machine for applying liquid to skins.



PATENTED JAN. 8

W. B. TURNER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LIQUID T0 SKINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H MI PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907.

W. B. TURNER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LIQUID T0 SKINS.

APPLIOATION FILED APE.1. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTBR:

WITNEEEES No. 840,597. PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907.

W. B. TURNER.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LIQUID T0 SKINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

\X/ITNESEEEl INVENTDR:

PATENTED JAN. 8, 1907.

W. B. TURNER.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LIQUID T0 SKINS.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 1. 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

\MTNE55E'5: \NvENTUR: AMJ M H W W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. TURNER, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE TURNER TANNING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSA- CHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LIQUID TO SKINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 8, 1907.

Application filed April 1,1904. Serial No. 201,177.

To all whom it may calmer-n;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. TURNER, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Applying Liquid to Skins, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a machine for scouring, seasoning, or oiling skins or applying liquids of any kind thereto. v

It consists of a machine of the character referred to having certain improvements by means of which the liquid may be lproperly applied to the skin and in whic t e treatment of the skin is expeditious and thorough.

()n thcaccom an 'ing drawings. Figure 1 represents in si e e evation a machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 represents a rear elevation of the machine. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal vertical section from front to rear. Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the manner of mounting the treadle-bar and of counterweighting the movable work-support. Fig. 5 represents a side elevation of one of the operative members and shows how it is mounted upon its carrier. Fig. 6 represents an end view of the same. Fig. 7 represents the under face of one of the members'detached from the carrier. Fig. 8 represents the cleaning mechanism.

The invention contemplates the employment of a plurality of Working members yieldingly mounted upon endless carriers, means for supplying liquid thereto, and a work-support movable bodily toward and from the working members and their carriers, so as to present a skin or portion thereof to the action of the said members.

On the drawings a machine is illustrated having these features of the invention; but it willbe understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms, that the details of construction may be changed, and that working members of other types may be employed, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it will be further understood that the phraseology which is herein employed is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

The machine includes a frame consisting of two side standards 10 and 11, which are properly shaped for the reception and su port of the various operative portions of t e machine and which are connected by crossbraces hereinafter specifically mentioned. The upper portions of the standards are elongated and are arranged at an inclination to both the vertical and the horizontal. In the upper ends of the side standards are guides for the reception of adjustable boxes or journal-bearings 12 for a transverse shaft 13, the boxes .being adjusted by screws 14. A shaft 15 is journaled in the frame in parallelism with that at 13, and to these shafts are secured a plurality of sprocket-wheels, those upon the shaft 13 being indicated by the numeral 16 and those on the shaft 15 by the numeral 17. Trackin upon the sprocket-wheels are parallel end ess carriers 18, upon which are sup orted the working members, (each indicate as a whole at 181.)

To prevent the upper stretches of the carriers from sagging, idler-sprockets 120 are journaled in arms 121 on a transverse shaft 122, being locked in place by a set-screw 123. For the purpose of actuating the carriers the shaft 15 is provided. upon its projecting end with a sprocket-wheel 19, driven by a chain 20 from a sprocket-Wheel 21 on the main power-shaft 22, journaled in the side standards 10 and 11. The'sprocket-chain 20 is kept taut by an idler 23' on a support 24, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The main power-shaft 22 is provided with fast and loose pulleys 240 250 for the reception of a driving-belt, it being supposed that suitable shipper mechanism will be employed for shipping the belt from one pulley to the other.

The working members 181 (of which a description is hereinafter given) are supplied with liquid by a roll or cylinder 26, Whose trunnions are journaled in the ends of a tank or reservoir 27, supported on brackets 28, affixed to the side standards. The roll is arranged in the path of the working me'nbers, so that as each member engages it it is caused to rotate in the bath of liquid and to carry sullicient with it upon its periphery to supply the necessary amount to the faces of the Working members.

Liquid is supplied to the tank or reservoir from a receptacle 29, placed on the floor underneath the machine, by means of a pump and supply-pipes. The pump-cylinder is'indic'ated at in Fig. 1 and is mounted in a bracket 31. The said cylinder is connected at its lower end with the pipe 32, which extends from the bottom of the tank or receptacle 29 to the reservoir. The pump-piston is indicated at 33, and it is pivoted to a lever fulcrumed on shaft 51, said lever being connected by a pitman 36 with a crank-pin 37 and hub of a gear secured .to the drivingshaft 22. Leading from the end of the reservoir is an overflow-pipe 38, having an elbow 39 rotatably coupled thereto, the elevation of the discharge end determining the level of the liquid in the reservoir. So long as the machine is in operation the liquid will be pumped from the receptacle 29 into the reservoir and the overflow permitted to drip back through the discharge-pipe 38 into the said receptacle.

The work-support is substantially endless. It consists of a plurality of cross-slats 40 on endless carriers or chains 41. Said chains or carriers are passed around sprocket-wheels 42 43 on'shafts 44 45. These shafts are j ournaled in bearings in a movable frame consisting of side bars 46 and a cross-bar 47, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The journal-boxes 48 for the shaft 44 are arranged in guides in the ends of the bars 46 and are adjusted by screws 49. The shaft is actuated by chain-and-sprocket gearing from a shaft 50, journaled in the side standards, said chainand-s rocket gearing consisting of a sprocket whee (not shown) on the shaft 45, the chain '51, and a sprocket wheel 52 on the shaft 50. The shaft itself is driven from the shaft 22 by a pinion 53 and gear 54. The described driving mechanism for the shaft 45 is such that the endless work-support is driven at a much slower rate of speed than the working members, the carriers for the working menbers and for the work-support moving in 0pposite directions, so that their adjacent stretches move in the same direction.

The frame for the work-support is arranged at an inclination underneath the working members, the lower ends of the side bars 46 being fulcrumed upon studs 55 in close juxtaposition to the shaft 50, as best-illustrated in Fig. 3. The ends of the side bars are slotted for the reception of the studs 55 and adjusting-screws 56, rojecting in opposite directions into the s ots to engage the said studs. By adjusting these screws the lower end of the frame ma be adjusted bodily toward and from the carriers for the working members.

The free end of the frame is adapted to be moved toward and from the working members and is supported by upright bars 60, the lower ends of which are secured to the inner ends of two-armedlevers 61. These levers are fulcrumed upon a cross-bar 62, mounted in the base of the side standards, the forward arms supporting at their extremities a cross-bar 63. The levers 61 and 63, with the connecting rods or bars 60, provide atreadle mechanism by means of which the frame for the work-support may be moved bodily toward and from the working members. The upward movement of the frame is limited by set-screws 64 in brackets 65, Whereas the downward movement of the frame is stopped at the proper point by the engagement of the levers 61 with the base-flanges 66 of the side standards.

The weight of the side frame is substantially counterbalanced by devices illustrated in detail in Fig. 4. A lever 67 is fulcrumed at 68 on a support 69, attached to a crossbar 70, which extends between the side standards. Upon the longer end of the lever is adjustably secured a Weight 71, which is heavy enough by reason of the leverage obtained to nearly support the frame and the parts carried thereby. The shorter end of the lever has a flexible connection 72 with the inner end of one of the levers 61. By means of this counterweight device the operator is enabled to move the work-support toward the working members with compara tively little effort.

A table or breast-beam is secured to the movable frame by a bracket 81. It is formed with an a ron or casing 82, which covers the upper end 'of the movable carrier and prevents the operator from coming in contact therewith. To the inner edge of the table is secured a strip 83', which overlaps a portion of the carrier and covers the cracks or spaces between the slats as they are passing around the sprockets 42.

For the purpose of cleaning the slats of the work-support a novel mechanism is provided, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It includes a shaft 84, journaled in bearings on ,the side standards and driven by sprocket-wheels 85 86 and a sprocket-chain 87 from the shaft 50. Fulcrumed upon the shaft 84 and adjustable in guide-blocks 871 are two arms or levers 881, journaled in the upper ends of which is a shaft 89. To these shafts are secured rolls 90 91, which are the same in size. Upon the shafts between the levers 88 are sprocketwheels 92 for endless carriers 93. To these carriers is secured a cross-slat 94, which is adapted to register with grooves in the rolls 90 91. To the slat 94 is secured one end of a flexible apron of vulcanized rubber or any other suitable material, which is passed several times about the two rolls, the other end of the apron being loose, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Upon the lower ends of the levers or arms 88 (which are secured to guides 871) are placed weights 96, which swing the levers about the shaft 84 to cause the engagement of the apron with the endless work-support.

The apron removes from the work-support whatever surplus material may have been left upon it by the operating members,-and to remove from the apron that surplus liquid a scraper 97 is utilized, the said scraper being in the form of ablade secured to a cross anglebar 98, the ends of which are formed with arms 99, pivoted at 100 to the guides 871. The scraper is held in engagement with the apron by suitable spring-tensioned mechanism, which is indicated as a whole at 101. The liquid which is scraped from the apron is deposited upon an inclined tray 102, which delivers it into the receptacle 29.,

The working memberswill now be described in detail, and reference may be had to Figs. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The endless carriers which support the members are set fairly closely together. At intervals some of the links of each endless carrier are provided with laterally-projectin lugs 103 103, to which the members an their sup orts are secured. Each of the working mem ers consists of a block 104 of wood, aluminium, or other suitable material. In plan view it is substantially"wedge-shaped or tapered toward its front end and its face is covered with a cushion 105 of felt or other suitable absorbent material. The cushion is formed at its front and rear ends with tabs 106, which are secured to the ends of the blocks by staples or other suitable fastenings. Each of the blocks is greater in width than the distance between two of the carriers 18, and the members on the alternating carrier are in transverse alinement, so that the aths of movement of the members on eac carrier overlap the paths of movement of the members on the next adjacent carrier or carriers. In consequence. of this the members are caused to treat all of that portion of the skin which is brought into proper position on the work-support. To the under face of each block are secured parallel bars 107, having lugs 108 108. These lugs are formed with slots 109, which are at an an le of about forty-five-degrees to the face of t e block, and they slant away from the tapered end thereof. To each pair of lugs 103 on the carriers is secured a support 110, having laterallyprojecting lugs 111, which are secured to those at 103 y bolts 112. This support is provided with laterally-projectin pins 113, which lie in the slots 109, so that t e member may be moved toward the support without destroying its parallelism therewith. The support 110 is depressed between'its ends, as s tion a, throng whic a in 114, secured in the unde'r'face of the bloc is passed. This pin is substantially parallel to the slots 109, and between the angular portion a of the support and the block is inserted a s ring 115, which encircles the pin and which olds the member yieldingly away from the supown in Fi 5, to rovide an angular porport. The bending of the support not only affords the angular portion a, but also provides for the support resting upon a crossbar of one of the links substantially underneath the middle of the block; By reason of this construction the members are supported by and against their carriers and are also enabled to pass around the sprockets 16 and 17, as. shown in Figs. 1 and 3, at which times the bent portions of the support leave the cross-barsof the links.

- In order to' prevent the carriers 18 and the carriers 41 of the work-support from sag or being pressed apart from each other wfifi the work-supIport is in its operative position, as shown inigl 3, guide-plates 117 and 118 are utilized. he guide 118 is supported upon the cross-brace 47 of the frame of the work-support and the guide 1 17 is secured to a cross-brace 119, which connects the upper portions of the side standards.

The operation of the machine will be readily understood. When the machine is not in use, the work-support is normally depressed, as shown in Fig. 1. The operator inserts into the V-shaped s ace between thesworksupport and the wor ing members a portion of a skin to be treated. The movement of that pprtion of the work-support upon which the s 'n rests is in the direction of the arrow 1), as shown in Fig. 1, and operates to spread out or removethe transverse wrinkles from the skin. The operator then places his foot upon the treadle-bar 63 and swings the work-support from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the 1position shown inFig. 3, in the meantime ho ding the skin upon the tablea'80 with his body or his hands. As the cushioned' members engage the supply-roll 26 they are supplied with the roper amount of oil, seasoning, or other liquid, which they deposit and work into the skin. The engagement of the members with the skin is intermittent and is much the same as though they were operated by hand. The shape of the working members tends to spread out the skin and remove the longitudinal wrinkles. The movement of the working members is much more rapid than the movement of the work-support, with the result that the skin becomes thoroughly treated. The liquid which is left upon the work-support is removed by wiping mechanism and is scraped from the wiping-apron by the scraper. The operator then permits the work-support to drop and shifts the skin oVer,so as to allow another portion to be treated. This he does until the entire skin has received treatment.

The machine is particularly adapted for &

invention and described a. way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms m which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. A machine of the character described comprising a plurality of working members forming atlat surface when in operative position, means for operating said members, means for supplying liquid to said members, a work-support having a substantially flat surface to receive the skin, and means for causing said work-support and said membersto be moved bodily one toward the other, in lines angular with relation to the said surface of the work-support.

2. A machine of the character described; comprising a plurality of working members, means for yieldingly supporting and operating said members, a rollfor supplying liquid to said members, a work-support, said worksupport and said working members being separable to, form a space for the insertion of a skin between them, and means for closing said space to cause the said working members to operate upon the skin.

'3. A machine of the character described comprising a work-support having a substantially flat surface for the reception of a skin, a plurality of working members, means for moving said members rectilineal-ly over the said surface, means for supplying liquid to said working members, and means for moving said work-support bodily at an angle to the lines of movement of said members to cause the skin on the said surface of the said work-support tobe treated. by said working members.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a plurality of working members, a work-support having a substantially flat surface for the rece tion of a skin, means for moving said wor 'ng members rectilineally along the said surface of the said worksupport, and tread-1e mechanism for moving said work-support and: said working members, one toward the other in lines angular to the said surface to cause said working members tooperate on a; skin placed on the said surface.

5. A machine of the character described comprising a main frame, a plurality of endless carriers each having working members thereon, means for causing the actuation of said carriers, 'a work-support pivoted. upon said main frame, and means for moving said support about its pivot to cause it to approach said working members, whereby the skin on said support will be treated by said working members.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a work-support adapted to" travel in a plane parallel to its surface, liquidsapplying members so disposed and-related as to leave a space between sa/idwork-support and said members, between which a portion of a skin may be inserted and endless carriers yieldingly supporting said members, in com-blnation with treadle mechanism for Lnoving said work-support against said memers.

7. A machine of the character described comprising the following instrumcntalities, to wit, liquid-applying members, a worksupport having a movable surface for a portion of the skin, and having a rest against which another portion of the skin may be held by the operator, in combination with treadle mechanism for moving one of said instrumentalities bodily toward the other in lines angular to said surface, and means for actuating said members consisting of endless carriers to which said members are yieldingly connected, and power mechanism for moving said carriers.

8. A machine of the character described comprising liquid-applying members, and endless carriers for supporting and actuating said members, in combination with a worksupport consisting of an endless carrier with cross-slats forming a surface for the support of the skin to be treated, said members and said slats being movable in the same direction.

9. A machine of the character described comprising a work-support consisting of an endless carrier'which forms a surface for that portion of the skin to be treated, and a relatively stationary rest for another portion of the skin, an endless series of liquid-applying members, and means for moving said members and said endless carrier so that their adjacent portions travel in the same direction.

10. A machine of the character described comprising two endless carriers arranged in proximity, one of said carriers constituting a work-support, and the other having a phrrality of liquid-applying members attached thereto mechanism for moving the adjacent stretches of said carriers in the same directions but at different speeds, and means for bodily moving one of said carriers toward and from the other..

11'. A machine of the character described comprising a work-support arranged at an inclination to both the vertical and the horizontal, a series of liquid-applying members, and an endless carrier supporting and actuating'said. members, and so arranged that its stretches overlie the said work-support.

12. In a machine of the character described, a plurality of endless carriers each having attached thereto a series of li uid-a plying members, a pivoted frame a 'aptecf to be swung to'wari and from the working members, an endlesscarrier on said frame constituting a work-support, means for moving all of the said carriers, and means for moving the said frame.

13. In a liquid applying. machine, a worksupport, liquid-applying mechanism, and means for cleaning the said work-support, said cleaning means com rising arallel rolls and an apron passed a out said rolls and adapted to engage said work-su ort.

14. In a liquid-applying mac ne, a worksupport liquid-applying mechanism, and means tor cleaning the said work-support, said cleaning means comprising rolls, endless chains connecting said rolls, and an a ron connected to said chains and passed a out the said rolls.

15. In a liquid-applying machine, a worksupport liquid-applying mechanism, and means for cleaning the said work-support, said cleaning means comprising a wiping device adapted to engage said work-sup ort and a scraper for scraping the liquid om said wi ing device.

16. n a li uid-applying machine, a worksupport, an li uid-applying mechanism comprising an en less carrier and a plurality of wedge-shaped or tapered working members carried t ereby.

17. In a 1i uid-applying machine, a worksupport, an li uid-applying mechanism com rising an en less carrier and a luralit of at substantially wedge-shape blocks carried thereby, each block having its operative face covered with cushioning or absorbent material.

18. In a machine of the character described, liquid-applying mechanism comprising an endless carrier, means for moving said carrier, a block supported on said carrier and adapted to yield bodil in a direction substantially o posite to ti e direction of movement of said carrier.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM B. TURNER.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, C. C. STEOHER. 

